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Cover of Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone? by Harvey Danger
Cover: Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?

Song · Harvey Danger

“Flagpole Sitta” by Harvey Danger

From the album Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone? (1997)

“Flagpole Sitta” by Harvey Danger appears on 75 radio countdowns from 30 stations between 1997 and 2026. It was first released in 1997 on the album Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?. Its best result is #1 on The End Top 107 Songs of 1998. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #2 alternative song of 1998, #143 alternative song of all time and #35 of the '90s.

75countdowns
30stations
#1best position
1#1 finishes
11top 10 finishes
1997–2026years charted

Watch

Harvey Danger - Flagpole Sitta (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (No Sleep Records). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Flagpole Sitta" came off Harvey Danger's 1997 debut album, Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?, and when it went out on Slash as the band's first single in April 1998, critics and record buyers both bit.

The band wrote it together and co-produced it with John Goodmanson, who also engineered and mixed, and the sound is all wiry nerves: a jumpy, overcaffeinated rocker with a smart mouth, a chorus built for shouting along and a wink that says it knows exactly how ridiculous it all is.

It went to number three on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks, number nine on Canada's RPM Alternative 30 and 38 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart, with a music video along for the ride.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1997 23 KISW Seattle-Tacoma, WA KISW Top 25 Songs from 1997 25
1998 2 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1998 107
1998 7 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1998 91
1998 2 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1998 106
1998 8 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1998 101
1998 4 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1998 100
1998 8 WFNX Boston, MA WFNX Top 101.7 Songs of 1998 102
1998 1 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 1998 107
1998 5 The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 1998 100
1998 10 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 1998 103
1998 11 DC101 Washington, D.C. DC101 Top 101 Songs of 1998 101
1998 35 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1998 100
1998 5 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 103 Songs of 1998 102

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1999 48 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 372 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 69 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 537 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 312 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 130 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 394 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
2000 83 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of the '90s (September 2000) 100
2000 381 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 386 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 188 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 270 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 386 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 119 The Buzz The Buzz Top Songs of All-Time (Labor Day 2002, partial) 144
2003 280 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 386 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 259 Q101 Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 115 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 386 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 71 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2005 30 Live 105 Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of the '90s (August 2005) 106
2005 66 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the 90s 96
2005 282 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 382 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 101 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 52 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the '90s (December 2006) 107
2006 132 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 84 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 318 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2007 128 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 104 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 203 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 108 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 91 CFNY 102.1 The Edge The Top 200 Songs of the 90's According to 102.1 The Edge 200
2009 90 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 109 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 110 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 116 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 119 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 122 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 25 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 21 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2019 18 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2020 76 DC101 Top DC101 of the 90's 101
2020 111 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2020 149 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2021 574 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 96 107.7 The End The End Obligatory Top 100 Alternative Songs of All Time (2021) 100
2021 83 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 79 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 84 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2022 341 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2022 44 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2023 83 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 8 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2023 68 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2023 65 ALT 104.5 ALT 104.5 Top 104 of ALT Time 104
2024 379 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2024 60 107.7 The End The End Sweet Summer Vibes Countdown (2024) 100
2025 100 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs 800
2026 33 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500
2026 402 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500

Charting alongside it in 1998

Best songs of 1998 →
  1. 1IntergalacticBeastie Boys
  2. 3Celebrity SkinHole
  3. 4Inside OutEve 6
  4. 5Closing TimeSemisonic
  5. 6Father of MineEverclear
  6. 7IrisGoo Goo Dolls

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